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Step 1 Management Services eNewsletter |  |
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Greetings! Welcome to the latest issue of this eNewsletter from Step 1 Management Services. The purpose of this communiqué is to keep you updated on events, trends, issues and ideas relating to the planning for and management of technology in the small business market. In each issue we examine a key technology issue impacting small business owners and senior executives. In topics ranging from ?strategic? software licensing to hardware management to data storage and optimization, we will offer you valuable insight and ideas for improving how your business utilizes and exploits the investments you?ve made in technology.
As many of you know I recently launched my first corporate blog called In Step With SmallBizTechnology. I must admit I jumped on the blogging bandwagon without really being too sure what I was getting into. The more I'm learning, though, the more convinced I am of the benefit of blogging for businesses. But there are also some concerns. I see blogging as a sort of grown-up version of the instant messaging our kids seem to thrive on. (Only we use actual words when we write!) It gives business owners, employees, clients, industry gurus and countless others a chance to participate in an active "conversation" about some shared interest or subject matter. It's better than email because it is open to the entire web world instead of just the email addresses of colleagues or friends contained in my address book. But there is a dark side to blogging that cannot be ignored. In order for a blog to be considered "legitimate" by industry players it has to be a free exchange of views and information. That means someone might very well write something unflattering about your company and (here's the Catch-22) you shouldn't block the comments because to do so damages the credibility of the blog in the first place. Even if you did block such comments the posting blogger would simply go to another blog and post the same (or even worse) statements. In the coming issues I'll discuss blogging's pros and cons in more detail. Until then I invite you to visit In Step With SmallBizTechnology. Feel free to contribute to the conversation in any way you like.
There is an awful lot being written about the benefits (and risks) of the software as a service (SAAS) trend. If you're not sure what SAAS really means I think I can give you a simple definition to put it all in perspective. SAAS means that the software vendors who produce the products you want and need for your business no longer require you to receive CDs with install programs on them. You don't have to install anything (unless you opt to for redundancy purposes -- another topic to be sure). Instead you "subscribe" to the software across the internet and access it whenever you need to. You have no more "new release" version control problems and software patches and security releases are managed by the vendor. There are other benefits to SAAS as well. Usually you find that the cost of accessing software this way is lower than traditional models. Typically you will pay a per seat/per month fee, which may fluctuate based on how many extra "features" you subscribe to. SAAS is very real and very much accepted -- if not yet broadly in all markets. Arguably the best known SAAS product today is Salesforce.com. This sales force automation (SFA) and customer relationship management (CRM) package is quickly gaining new customers and subscribers now number in the hundreds of thousands. But there have been a few glitches with Salesforce.com that might give a prospective customer cause for concern. The company recently was undergoing a major rollout of additional hosting capacity and, unfortunately, they experienced a sustained outage when customers could not get to their client information. Many horror stories about lost business have begun to show up in news reports and all over the blogosphere (see the first article if you aren't sure what that is). It's hard to fault the company for trying to manage their growth but the system failure points out the vulnerabilities users face with SAAS. Hence there have been some who suggested that they would install a verison of the package locally for just such emergencies. Kind of makes you question the value of subscribing if you have to maintain local copies as well -- and what about the unavoidable customizations most users make when it comes to the local copies? Just so you know, I am a strong advocate of SAAS. I got to know the model pretty well while at my previous employer. We rolled out a SAAS version of the installed software we sold for regulatory compliance. The clients loved it, I loved it and Accounting definitely loved it. I strongly suggest that you consider SAAS when looking at your next software upgrade or new purchase. It isn't without some foibles, but overall I think the benefits far outweigh the risks.
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